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"On The
Road Again", that is just one of those unforgetable Willie
Nelson-songs. I remember a journey by Greyhoundbus from the deep South
back to New York, when we started singing this song after every stop.
Instigators of all the fun were two young men who, having served a
prison sentence, went on their way home! Of course the hitsong also
passes by during this feel-good recording of Willie at Amsterdam's
Paradiso, June 2000. The songs follow each other almost without
intermission, the applause continues sounding loud anyway, while the
Texan veteran works himself in an enthusiastic pace through all the
highlights of his long career. Especially the classic "Always On My
Mind" is delivered in a great way! Over the years Willie started
sounding even more obstinate, with the characteristic cutting voice in
his very own timing and phrasing. Sometimes it's more reciting than
singing, that's how he does Rodney Crowell ("Till I Gain Control
Again") justice, for instance. While legendary Willie plays his
inseparable acoustic guitar - worn-out and strewn with autographs - the
perfect, sometimes a bit jazzy sounding accompanying band takes care of
everything else. The line-up doesn't seem changed much since the
eighties, when they made a stop at Ahoy in Rotterdam with Willie:
sister Bobbie still plays piano, Jody Payne guitar and Mickey Raphael
harmonica. It's a pity that the duet-vocal isn't mentioned separately.
The instrumentals with French titles are also doing wonderful,
especially "Ou Est-Tu Mon Amour"- which blends into Willie's singing of
"I Never Cared For You"- is intriguing! He looks tough in the pictures,
beard and mustache turned white in the meantime, the braids are still
red for the biggest part, hopefully Willie will live to celebrate his
hundredth birthday! ----------
Written by Johanna J. Bodde